Empire of the Ring

Kaya, chairman of the Koç Holding Group, wanted a uranium mine.

These days, the price of uranium oxide was soaring, and Kazakhstan was also striving to increase production facilities. The country boasted of having global scale uranium reserves, so many other countries operating nuclear power plants always had their eye on the uranium prices that were controlled by Kazakhstan. For this reason, countries were eager to secure uranium mines, which Kaya was also greedy for.

“Do you think it’ll be easy for Kazakhstan to open a national strategic asset to a foreign company?”

“Any underground resource is a strategic asset. If there is great pay for it, the government will have a second thought.”

“I assume that you have a proposal that President Nazarbayev might be interested in.”

“Our group is a manufacturer of various weapons which you might also be interested in.”

“In that case, I’ll make an active recommendation to the president.”

“If things go well, I’ll transfer the technology that the Arirang Autonomous State could use to produce its own weapon.”

He was blatantly throwing bait to Youngho. He was indeed also the chairman of a global arms production group.

On the way back to the hotel, only one thing was on Youngho’s mind. He must make this happen. To survive in the global society, he needed to secure force and technology to produce force in the autonomous state.

There was no reason to question why the Koç Holding Group was greedy for a uranium mine. It was natural for a company to take on new challenges to leap forward.

Since the Turkish government was trying to tame the company, the company was determined to find a breakthrough abroad.

Strategic technology was a breakthrough for the autonomous state. It was also a golden opportunity for Kazakhstan to emerge from the shadow of Russia.

Among the affiliates of the Koç Holding Group were the shipbuilding group, which had technology specialized in mid-sized combat ships such as frigates and corvettes. In other words, combat ship technology could also be transferred.

***

It was on a flight from Istanbul to Copenhagen, Denmark. Hong Sung-ki, sitting on the co-pilot’s seat, was complaining.

“There was nothing to get at the flea market. Since it was pouring out, there were not even people out there. I couldn’t even get a cup of tea, let alone a kettle, because there were only about 50 empty stalls.”

“Should I give you a kettle that’s in my bedroom at the Grand Palace? That’s also from a flea market.”

“That’s fine. If I take your stuff, and Mr. Park finds out about this, I’m dead.”

“You’re somehow really scared of Park Jong-il.”

“He starts with his fist when he’s upset. You know how rough he can be as a former MMA fighter.”

“There’s a flea market in Denmark, so look forward to it.”

“You said a proper antique only comes from Istanbul.”

“You think the Balkans that were hunted by the Ottoman Empire only came to Istanbul? There are quite a few aristocrats who had moved to Northern Europe, so their relics could be in Denmark.”

“By the way, you said you got lucky because you got something from the flea market in Istanbul?”

“You went to the flea market without knowing what it was?”

“Didn’t you get some centuries-old antiques and sold them at a high price? I thought that’s how you got rich.”

“What? Hahaha…”

Although the real story was a little different, it was not totally false. Meeting the Fatima siblings and attaining their relics had brought him this far.

The weather was nice at Copenhagen Airport.

Szechenyi who brought a limousine provided by the Danish royal family was waiting for Youngho’s group.

“How was your flight?”

“I wasn’t bored because there was a loud man next to me.”

“Oh, Deputy Director Hong. I haven’t seen you in a long time. Did you withdraw completely from Siberia?”

“I think I’ll have to stay in the state for a while now because the duke here has caught me.”

“Thank you for sticking with him. I’m not so worried about him since someone as talented as you are by his side.”

“There are a lot of places that are sending me a love call, but the duke’s affection is holding me back.”

“Oh, really? Hong Sung-ki, if you’ve received a scout offers from other places, I’ll push you to go.”

“Boss, don’t say anything you don’t mean. I know your heart just sank in fear of losing me. Without me, the autonomous state would be paralyzed. How could I leave it knowing that? That’d be so cruel to the state and the people. I know I’m stuck here for good.”

He was a funny guy who could make lies without blinking his eye. Szechenyi burst into laughter listening to Hong Sung-ki’s jokes.

“I can tell the reason why the duke chose you to accompany him, not Chief Secretary Kim.”

“Right, a competent boss knows a competent subordinate.”

“Oh, what you’re saying is that I’m a competent boss at least?”

“You only stand out because of your capable subordinate.”

“If you’re that capable, why did you need my help to get a girl for you? You’ll have to dedicate yourself to the state until you die to pay for your grand wedding that I paid for.”

“I wasn’t even able to meet a girl when I was being chased by work overload. It’s a wedding that you ordered because you were worried that such a talented person like I am might leave you. But do you want me to pay back the cost?”

“If you didn’t have that much time, how come you already have three or four bars you regularly visited?”

“I just had to relieve myself a little bit from the work stress.”

“Oh, jeez. There’s no ending to your lies.”

At Hong Sung-ki’s volubility, Szechenyi almost cried in laughter.

Since Szechenyi had been spending his dull days staring at Isabella in Copenhagen, it was refreshing to talk to Youngho and Hong Sung-ki. He seemed to have gained vitality.

Later, he even encouraged Hong Sung-ki to come to work in Denmark.

***

At the palace, Prince Frederick was awaiting Youngho.

Prince Frederick was tired of the boresome royal life. Since Youngho freely traveled anywhere in the world, the Crown Prince envied his life.

During his bachelor days, he used to be quite athletic. He even competed in the Olympics as a yacht player, but he was caught in an invisible restriction that made him the first in line to succeed the throne. The only way of liberation for him now was hunting, but these days, the terrorist attacks of the IS had been keeping him from going on hunting trips.

When Youngho showed up, he could not help but feel glad.

“Prince consort, you said you’d be here yesterday. What took you so long?”

“Hahaha… I was stranded in Istanbul.”

“Istanbul is a beautiful city. The women are beautiful, too.”

“Have you ever been to Istanbul?”

“It’s been more than 20 years. I went sailing in the Black Sea.”

“What have you been waiting for me for?”

“I haven’t been able to hunt, and it’s been killing me. So I waited to make some excuses to visit the Arirang Autonomous State.”

“Do you want me to make a plausible excuse?”

“Oh if you could do that, I won’t wish for more.”

“In Korea, there is a custom of staying in in-laws’ place for a certain period of time after getting married.”

“You mean Isabella should stay in the autonomous state for a while?”

“Yes, and her family could come along as her guardian. So, if you come under the pretext of that, others won’t say much.”

“That’s a great idea. Thank you for that great excuse.”

“But I assume you didn’t ask to meet for just a hunt, did you?”

“I’ve got a very important issue about Denmark. It’s because you’re a major shareholder of the Danish shipyard.”

“…”

“Do you know that the shipyard used to produce submarines?”

“I’ve heard of it before.”

“The Danish Navy is very sorry that the shipyard has fallen into the hands of a foreigner. The Navy planned to build a submarine from the shipyard, but they’re worried that the secret might leak.”

“I’m a foreigner, but I’m also the family-in-law of the Danish royal family. I’m sorry to hear such speculation.”

“It’s just a misunderstanding. I’m just speaking in principle. We all know that the Arirang state is a big help to our country. But when it comes to military secrets…”

“The secret of Denmark is the secret of the Arirang Autonomous State and also of mine. Is that the answer you wanted to hear?”

“You always give me the right words that I want to hear. I’d like to say thank you on behalf of the Navy.”

The dock at the state’s shipyard seemed so big, but compared with the dock at the Danish shipyard, it was a joke. It was funny to compare a dock that built a 5,000-ton boat with a dock that made ships in tens of thousands of tons.

The ship engine plant alone was incomparable, and so was the magnitude of the block-making plant. Youngho smiled to have control of the company with such big facilities only in a few days.

“Boss, do you mean we will take over this huge shipyard?”

“Rather than taking over, we should assume control of the management.”

“That’s the same to me. I think we can make enough warships here.”

“It’s universal in building icebreaker. I heard they built submarines before because of their excellent ship-building skills.”

“Now that we have two shipyards, the whole of Central Asia will be ours if we can make fighter jets as well.”

“What?”

“I saw a light plane being fixed in the hangar, but it didn’t look that complex except for the electronic equipment part.”

Hong Sung-ki said assembling an aircraft was as easy as assembling a toy.

His idea was not all a lie if the state could only assemble the plane after importing all components that went inside it.

“Do you think it’ll be possible at our level?”

“Don’t other countries make light airplanes easily? If we hire technicians, we can definitely do it ourselves. I heard you ordered a light aircraft manufacturer to mount weapons on the plane, but how can they install weapons when there’s a weight limit for each light airplane? It would be faster for us to build our own aircraft.”

“Who’s going to hand over that technology?”

“It’s not about making the most advanced jets, it’s about making the first-stage helicopters or propeller planes. You can do the basics by browsing the Internet.”

“Don’t you think you’re belittling the technology too much?”

“It’s not the latest technology, it’s old technology.”

“All right. You should be in charge of this project.”

“Me? I’m with the intelligence department.”

“In our state, anyone who suggested a proposal will be in charge of it.”

“Okay, you don’t care if it’s an old helicopter or a single-leaf prop as long as it has weapons installed in it, right?”

Even though he received an unexpected assignment, Hong Sung-ki did not even get flustered. It was kind of reassuring to see him speaking with confidence. Although he was usually talkative and a little noisy, he was always cautious in what he did. However, he accepted Youngho’s order without hesitation. Since trying a new industry was always welcome in the state, Youngho decided to trust him with this project.